New poll shows boost for Afghan war strategy

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A new national poll by Quinnipiac University shows that the Obama administration’s new strategy in Afghanistan is gaining some favor among voters.

Conducted April 14-19, the poll of American voters found that 49 percent of the respondents approved of the way President Barack Obama is handling the situation in Afghanistan versus 39 percent who disagreed.

In another bit of good news for the White House, 56 percent of voters polled agreed that the United States was doing the “right thing” fighting in Afghanistan against 36 percent who did not.

Asked whether eliminating the threat of militants operating from Afghanistan was a worthwhile goal for American troops to fight and possibly die for, 61 percent of voters said it was while 31 percent said it was not.

The latest survey must be welcome since poll after poll last year showed the eight-year war was becoming increasingly unpopular among voters.

The Quinnipiac University poll surveyed 1,930 registered voters nationwide. It has a margin of error of plus/minus 2.2 percentage points.

Author Profile

Sue Pleming covers foreign policy, with a focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. She joined Reuters in London in 1990 and was based in Brussels before moving to Washington, where her most recent post was covering the State Department. She started her journalism career in southern Africa and has also done reporting stints in Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi.